1965 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1500 Alpha Hands With Box
Ref: 1500

Specification

Points of Mention

This watch is sold with its original Rolex presentation box and later signed paperwork. The watch is paired with its original 19mm Rolex Rivet Oyster stainless steel bracelet with a signed folding clasp. The watch is from Circa. 1965 and is sold in worn but fair condition with a tropical/patina'd dial as you can see. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.

The Watch

In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements which are installed in British cases and sold to jewellers who put their names on the dials. Recognising the potential for their brand, Wilsdorf created the brand name Rolex in 1908. In 1910, a Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland. Demand for Rolex watches rose swiftly, and British taxes on the Swiss movements Rolex used prompted Wilsdorf to move the business to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919. With production costs lowered, Wilsdorf quickly set out to solve the age-old problem of moisture and dust entering a watch case and damaging the movement. The Rolex watchmakers came up with a fully sealed watch case, which Wilsdorf named the Oyster, and released to an appreciative audience in 1926. In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic winding wristwatch, giving it the legendary name Oyster Perpetual. In 1945, they released Datejust. The Datejust was the first watch to have the date jump instantaneously at midnight. The 1950s saw a whole lot of releases such as the Air-King (1958), the Explorer (1953), the Submariner (1953), the GMT Master (1955), the Day-Date (1956), the electromagnetic field resistant Milgauss (1956), the Lady-Datejust (1957) and the first Deep Sea model (1960). Wilsdorf’s death in 1960, saw ownership of Rolex S.A. (a collection of sub-companies) passed to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation which was founded by Wilsdorf in 1945, the mission of which is simply to sustain Rolex S.A. indefinitely.

Here we have a 1965 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1500 with a 34mm Oyster stainless steel case. The subtle curve of the case leads to drilled lugs and a case thickness of 11mm and a lug to lug length of 41.5mm ensure a comfortable fit on the wrist. On the right side, we have a screw-down signed crown with a smooth bezel holding an Acrylic crystal that sits proud of the case above its aged tropical black dial. Slender baton indexes with tritium lume pips mark the hours and at 3 o’clock a date window with cyclops magnification on the crystal magnifies 2.5 times. At 12 o’clock we have the applied Rolex crown and elegant Alpha hands with tritium infill are complemented by a tapered sweeping second hand. The text is precisely executed with “Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date” and “Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified”. On the reverse, a screw-down coin-edged case back. Inside an Automatic Rolex Cal. 1570, 26 jewels, 19,800 beats per hour. This movement was in production from 1965 until around 1974. The watch comes fitted on its original 19mm Rolex Rivet Oyster stainless steel bracelet with a signed folding clasp and also comes with its Rolex presentation box and later signed paperwork.

Personal Note

Dials like this aren't for everyone and that's perfectly fine, you'll either love them or you won't. Personally, I think it looks incredible on the wrist and has so much charm and character, the most important thing is the movement is clean and running beautifully so you can rest assured whatever caused the dial to turn this way, likely many many moons ago, hasn't been allowed to affect the movement. If you are unsure, book a viewing and come see for yourself.